Devilish Game (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 4)

I darted back, fear shooting through me. Her claws swiped across my chest, and pain flared. Blood poured down my shirt, and I gasped. Anat hissed, fangs protruding as she reached for me again. Terror drove me, and I stumbled back, out of her grip.

Her form flickered again, and the beautiful goddess reappeared, the blood gone. She looked at me with vague irritation. “You need to be faster. With the cult in residence in my temple, my dark side is more powerful

than it should be. That is why I called to you. Only you can stop this.”

“You were the voice in my head?”

“Both voices—my dark side and my light. The dark side wanted you for the same reason the cult does. If they force you to complete the ritual, I will rise again—death and destruction made form, and the entire earth will fall. The light side of me—the person I am this moment—knows that only you can stop this.”

“Why me?”

“Fate. Your power is growing, but even I don’t know what you really are. But you were the one that I could reach, and you are brave and strong enough to stop this.”

“How do I stop them?”

“They’ve cast a spell and are siphoning my magic from this temple to fuel their miserable lives. They do not die, even once they are grievously injured.”

“I’ve seen that.”

“You must break the spell they have cast on my statue, which is a conduit for my power. They’ve desecrated my crown, which represents both sides of me. The left side is peace, the right side is war.”

“They tore off the left side of the crown. I saw it.”

“Yes. Find that piece of the crown and return it. You must also destroy the spell they have etched into the ground at my temple. Tear up the floor if you must. When their spell is destroyed, they will fall without my magic to sustain them.”

“Destroy your temple?”

“I can repair it.”

“Then I can stop the red cloaks.”

“Go.” She flicked her hand, and the ether pulled me in. The last thing I saw was Anat, her form turning red once again. Then I was spinning through space.

A moment later, it spat me out in the large temple room. The sounds of battle raged, and I spun around.

Grey stood right in front of me, face white and eyes dark with worry.

“Carrow.” He pulled me to him, hugging me hard.

My heart swelled, threatening to beat its way out of my chest. Thank God he was there. Thank God he was whole. So much emotion filled me that I thought I would burst. This depth of feeling would be a problem for later. For now, I didn’t fight it. I hugged him tight, then pulled back.

“Where did you go?” he demanded.

Blasts of magic exploded behind him, colorful and terrifying. I’d never seen so much all at once. It was like standing in the middle of a war zone.

“I saw Anat. We can stop them by repairing the crown on her statue and destroying the dark red lines on the floor.”

His gaze flicked to the statue, understanding dawning. Then he looked at the floor, where a dark red line was painted into the ground. Magic radiated from it, sparking against my calf.

“Destroy the lines?” he asked.

“Tear up the floor if you have to, but we need to break the spell that is feeding her power into the cult members. It’s what keeps them alive even after their throats have been slit.”

He nodded. “I’ll deal with the lines. The witches can help.”

I nodded. “Be careful.”

He gave me one long look, his eyes sparking with something I couldn't quite identify, then sprinted away.